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1976 Atlantic hurricane season
The 1976 Atlantic hurricane season officially began on June 1, 1976, and it ended on November 30, 1976; these are dates that conventionally delimit the timeframe for tropical cyclone tropical cyclone formation. It was rather active due to the sudden appearance of a strong La Niña, with 20 depressions, 17 storms, 12 hurricanes, and a record eight major hurricanes forming; the latter two were records for their time. Notable storms of the season included Hurricane Belle, which struck North Carolina as a Category 3 major hurricane, Hurricane Candice, which struck Texas as a Category 4 major hurricane, Hurricane Emmy, which struck Nicaragua as a Category 5 major hurricane, Hurricane Frances, which struck Miami as a Category 5 major hurricane and New York City as a Category 1 hurricane, Hurricane Gloria, which also made landfall over Miami, but as a Category 3 major hurricane, Hurricane Jill, which made landfall over both Cancún and Tampico, Mexico as a Category 5 major hurricane, and Hurricane Lilias, which made landfall over Louisiana as a Category 4 major hurricane. The real season witnessed 23 depressions, 10 storms (8 named), 6 hurricanes, and 2 major hurricanes, neither of which exceeded Category 3 intensity. Timeline ImageSize = width:800 height:200 PlotArea = top:10 bottom:80 right:20 left:20 Legend = columns:3 left:30 top:58 columnwidth:270 AlignBars = early DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/07/1976 till:01/12/1976 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal ScaleMinor = grid:black unit:month increment:1 start:01/07/1976 Colors = id:canvas value:gray(0.88) id:GP value:red id:TD value:rgb(0.38,0.73,1) legend:Tropical_Depression_=_<39_mph_(0-62_km/h) id:TS value:rgb(0,0.98,0.96) legend:Tropical_Storm_=_39-73_mph_(63-117 km/h) id:C1 value:rgb(1,1,0.80) legend:Category_1_=_74-95_mph_(119-153_km/h) id:C2 value:rgb(1,0.91,0.46) legend:Category_2_=_96-110_mph_(154-177_km/h) id:C3 value:rgb(1,0.76,0.25) legend:Category_3_=_111-130_mph_(178-209-km/h) id:C4 value:rgb(1,0.56,0.13) legend:Category_4_=_131-155_mph_(210-249_km/h) id:C5 value:rgb(1,0.38,0.38) legend:Category_5_≥_156_mph_(≥250_km/h) Backgroundcolors = canvas:canvas BarData = barset:Hurricane bar:Month PlotData= barset:Hurricane width:11 align:left fontsize:S shift:(4,-4) anchor:till from:30/07/1976 till:31/07/1976 color:TD text:One from:31/07/1976 till:31/07/1976 color:TD text: barset:break barset:skip from:02/08/1976 till:04/08/1976 color:TS text:Anna from:03/08/1976 till:16/08/1976 color:C3 text:Belle from:06/08/1976 till:25/08/1976 color:C4 text:Candice from:09/08/1976 till:14/08/1976 color:C1 text:Dottie from:11/08/1976 till:14/08/1976 color:TS text:One from:14/08/1976 till:16/08/1976 color:TD text:Six barset:break from:19/08/1976 till:04/09/1976 color:C5 text:Emmy from:23/08/1976 till:08/09/1976 color:C5 text:Frances from:27/08/1976 till:07/09/1976 color:C3 text:Gloria from:04/09/1976 till:09/09/1976 color:C2 text:Holly from:10/09/1976 till:13/09/1976 color:TS text:Inga from:12/09/1976 till:30/09/1976 color:C5 text:Jill from:16/09/1976 till:26/09/1976 color:C3 text:Kay barset:break from:24/09/1976 till:10/10/1976 color:C4 text:Lilias from:29/09/1976 till:04/10/1976 color:C2 text:Maria from:06/10/1976 till:13/10/1976 color:C2 text:Nola from:11/10/1976 till:15/10/1976 color:TS text:Two from:03/11/1976 till:05/11/1976 color:TD text:Orpha from:19/11/1976 till:23/11/1976 color:TS text:Pamela bar:Month width:5 align:center fontsize:S shift:(0,-20) anchor:middle color:canvas from:01/07/1976 till:01/08/1976 text:July from:01/08/1976 till:01/09/1976 text:August from:01/09/1976 till:01/10/1976 text:September from:01/10/1976 till:01/11/1976 text:October from:01/11/1976 till:01/12/1976 text:November TextData = pos:(570,30) text:"(From the" pos:(617,30) text:"Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale)" Storms Tropical Depression One Tropical Depression One did not affect any landmasses. Tropical Storm Anna Initially struggling at first due to heavy wind shear, Anna affected much of Texas and Oklahoma. Twelve fatalities and $2.4 million (1976 USD) in losses were reported. Hurricane Belle Belle affected wide swaths of Bermuda, North Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia, along with most of the Midwestern United States and Ontario. Primarily due to strong winds and heavy flooding, the hurricane was responsible for 444 fatalities and $751.16 million (1976 USD) in losses, especially in North Carolina. Hurricane Candice Candice, developing in the Caribbean Sea, affected portions of Cuba, Jamaica, the Yucatán Peninsula, Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas. Due to its prolonged slow movement, extreme amount of tornadoes, heavy storm surge, intense gusts, and phenomenal rainfall, 809 fatalities and $1.3 billion (1976 USD) in losses were reported, albeit well-advanced preparations. Hurricane Dottie Dottie brought extremely strong rip currents to Nova Scotia, killing four and causing $765,000 (1976 USD) in damages. Subtropical Storm One Subtropical Storm One had no land effects. Tropical Depression Six Tropical Depression Six also did not affect land. Hurricane Emmy Emmy affected most of the Windward Islands with strong gusts and nearly all of Central America with intense winds, up to a few feet of rainfall, and thousands of landslides. These impacts would render large parts of both regions uninhabitable. Damages neared to be around $500 million (1976 USD), while roughly 6,351 fatalities were reported in the hurricane's aftermath. Hurricane Frances Frances caused colossal damage across the entire U.S. East Coast, especially in New England, who was unprepared for the magnitude of this storm. Heavy rainfall in excess of 18 inches and a storm surge of almost 20 feet put vast portions of Miami and New York City underwater, trapping many civilians. In the aftermath of the catastrophe, $2.1 billion (1976 USD) in damages was reported and 1,856 fatalities were confirmed. Hurricane Gloria Taking a similar path to Elaine from 1974, Gloria passed through regions of The Bahamas and Florida already severly affected by Frances. Excessive rainfall, a moderate storm surge, and major hurricane-force gusts resulted in 96 fatalities and $146 million (1976 USD) in losses. Hurricane Holly Holly grazed through the Greater Antilles and the Bahamas before striking Miami as a Category 2 hurricane, becoming the third straight storm to attack the city. Due to the unexpected large size of the system, 234 fatalities and $51.7 million (1976 USD) in damages was reported. Tropical Storm Inga Inga caused rough surf across Nova Scotia, but no damages or fatalities were reported. Hurricane Jill Forming east of the Windward Islands, Jill brought heavy surf and storm surges reaching 24 feet to portions of the Lesser Antilles, Greater Antilles, Central America, Yucatán Peninsula, and the remainder of Mexico, bringing heavy rainfall and soil erosion. All in all, 7,459 fatalities and losses of $855 million (1976 USD) were reported. Hurricane Kay Kay brought rough waves to Bermuda, but no damages or deaths were reported. Hurricane Lilias Taking a somewhat similar path to Candice from earlier in the season, Lilias affected the Windward Islands, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Jamaica, Central America, the Yucatán Peninsula, Southeastern United States, and Texas. A storm surge of roughly 15 feet, over 100 tornadoes, heavy rainfall in excess of 50 inches, and gusts of strong Category 5 intensity, 986 fatalities and $1.4 billion (1976 USD) in losses were reported across the affected areas. It was described by some to be nothing along the likes they had ever seen. Hurricane Maria Maria grazed through portions of Florida, South Carolina, and North Carolina already severely affected by Frances, Gloria, and Holly. Rainfall of roughly 10 inches and gusts to Category 4 intensity killed 73 and caused damage reports of $108 million (1976 USD). Hurricane Nola Nola made landfall and affected portions of Texas and Oklahoma already badly flooded from previous storms. Strong gusts of Category 3 intensity and a storm surge of seven to nine feet caused additional carnage to the region, resulting in $87 million (1976 USD) in losses and 53 fatalities. Subtropical Storm Two Subtropical Storm Two grazed most of the U.S. East Coast from North Carolina upwards. Strong surf and moderate gusts caused eight fatalities and $3.6 million (1976 USD) in damages. Tropical Depression Orpha Operationally deemed a tropical storm, Orpha had no effects on land. Tropical Storm Pamela Concluding the season, Pamela also did not impact land. Storm names The following names were used to name tropical cyclones in 1976. Subtropical cyclones were not named. Storms were named Belle, Candice, Dottie, Emmy, Gloria, Jill, Kay, Lilias, Maria, Nola, Orpha, and Pamela for the first time in 1976. Retirement After the end of the season, the names Belle, Candice, Emmy, Frances, Jill, and Lilias were retired; this is the highest number of names retired after any season. Because this was the only time this naming list was used, no particular replacements were chosen. Category:Hypothetical Disasters Category:Hypothetical Hurricanes Category:Hurricanes Category:Atlantic hurricane seasons Category:Past Events Category:Past disasters Category:Past Atlantic hurricane seasons Category:Past Hurricanes Category:Events in the 1970s Category:What Could Have Been